City Taking Look At Grass Cutting Program

City Taking Look At Grass Cutting Program

A million bucks to cut grass? Believe it or not, that's what some contractors are making in Memphis.

MEMPHIS, TN (localmemphis.com) - A million bucks to cut grass? Believe it or not, that's what some contractors are making in Memphis.

Friday, the city suspended its grass cutting program.

This as auditors dig through records to make sure the work is actually being done.

City leaders aren't releasing a lot of details because right now the audit is underway. That said they have spent the last several days at multiple city offices digging through records and invoices.

“The good news is we cut lots of lots. The bad news is opportunity for loss and we want to make sure we close loop and make sure the programs is properly managed,” chief administrative officer George Little said. “To be clear we are not focusing on any one vendor or person just making sure this things is being run properly.”

Cutting overgrown grass through the Blight Abatement Program can rake in a lot of money for contractors. Some have made more than a million dollars.

Some of the things auditors are looking for? Contractors getting paid for work they didn't do and how work orders were handed out.

“Some of these contracts are big and all the reason to make sure they are being done correctly,” Little said.

In addition to an audit, a management review of the program is underway. That is expected to be complete in about 30 days.

Little said luckily it is not really grass cutting season so it is a good time to take a hard look at the program.

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